


5 times Erik's number was too easy to remember and one time it wasn't

by Hello_I_m



Category: X-Men (Movieverse), X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Erik Has Feelings, Erik WILL learn to love children, Established Relationship, Honestly Charles What Are You Thinking, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Protective Erik, rec-center of course
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-17
Updated: 2020-04-17
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:55:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22287484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hello_I_m/pseuds/Hello_I_m
Summary: Or the one in which Erik, head of the Brotherhood, becomes his boyfriend's glorified secretary---When Erik grilled his SIMs card a few years back and he had to chose a new phone number, he chose one that was SUPER easy to rememberWhile Charles reaaaally wants to believe his students can learn his number as an emergency contact, he also knows he can't always expect a panicked mutant tween to remember his number in a crisis. Which is why he always give them Erik's number on top of his. It's ridiculously easy to remember and he's confident it'll get the message to him almost as quickly as calling his own phone. He made it clear that they should only use it if they can't join him first. He never really got around telling them it was the number of the head of the infamous Brotherhood though... or to notify Erik about the arrangement for what it matters.
Relationships: Armando Muñoz/Alex Summers, Erik Lehnsherr/Charles Xavier, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 20
Kudos: 275





	1. Presentations

**Author's Note:**

> This ridiculous idea would not get out of my head, so I tried to put it together, and here it is. 
> 
> The chapters are very uneven, my bad. This is my first fic, please let me know what you thought about it in the comments!!!
> 
> While I have your attention, give a listen to Tough by QuinnXCII and Noah Kahan, I've never heard a song that said Modern College Cherik quite as much as this one

A few years ago, when the news broke out that the Mutant Act had been approved by the senate, Magneto went ballistic and practically brought the building he was standing in to the ground. He could not believe his eyes or ears. His Brotherhood had spent the last year protesting the bill and its discriminatory clauses.

Its mutantphobic roots and its blatant unfairness towards struggling mutants were barely hidden behind a veil of "common interest". The scale of so-called "mutation visibility" it proposed was absurd and the way it handled special mutant education was flirting with full-out registration.

The building stayed standing, thanks to Magneto's hard earned control, but in his anger, he grilled his phone and its sims card with it.

Days later, when forced to choose a new number between the few given by the teenager handling the telecom booth, he went for one that was ridiculously easy to remember. That way at least, his buddy Logan, who had the bad habit of taking on violent mutantphobic gangs alone and coming back in literal pieces, would have to find a better excuse as to why he didn't call for back-ups than "I forgot your number", which he had used liberally in the past.

\---

Charles loved his job at Columbia; teaching young students about mutant evolution and genetics was thrilling. But his favorite classes, far above any course he could teach at the university, were the ones he organized at the local community centers with mutants who were learning to control their gifts. He had acquired quite the reputation as being the person to go to when everything else had failed and thus regularly met charming children with extraordinary mutations.

But even his idealist ass had to admit that the political climate had become less than ideal for young mutants in the past decade. It was something he was working incredibly hard to fight back against. To him, Erik's Brotherhood and his own activism (through research and, yeah, sometimes money) were truly two sides of the same pro-mutant coin. With tension escalating between the government, the mutant voices, and the police, Erik and him were both very busy doing all they could to empower and defend the interests of their fellow mutants.

And while he reaaaally wants to believe his students could learn his number as an emergency contact, he also knew he couldn't always expect a panicked mutant tween to remember his number in a crisis. Which is why he always gave them Erik's number on top of his. It was ridiculously easy to remember and he was confident it would get the message to him almost as quickly as calling his own phone. He made it clear that they should only use it if they couldn't join him first. He never really got around telling them it was the number of the head of the infamous Brotherhood though... or notifying Erik about the arrangement for what it mattered.

Technically, only his sister knew about Charles and Erik, but Charles spent too many years hiding who he was and didn't ever want to go down that road again. Which meant that their relationship was only a loosely kept secret waiting to unravel. He couldn't care less. Too bad for his already unsteady political career.


	2. Sean

Erik was in the middle of getting his things together for the night at the Brotherhood's hive when his phone rang. He looked at it for a second, puzzled as to whom it could be. Few people had his number, and most them had left the organization’s emergency meeting less than fifteen minutes ago. Surely, they couldn't have already gotten in trouble requiring his attention. He picked-up quickly.

"Yes?"

"Uhmm, hi, is this Charles?"

Erik had trouble seeing how his voice could be mistaken for Charles', but he gave his audibly stressed interlocutor the benefit of the doubt.

"I'm afraid not, who am I speaking with?"

"Uhh I'm Sean. Uh, his student? I called Charles first but he didn't answer. Could you tell him I won't be able to make it tonight? He was supposed to help me with my powers, but I'm in detention again."

A high-schooler then; that partly explained why the guy at the other end of the line sounded twelve.

"I can give him the memo yes." Erik was confused, but the mission seemed straight-forward.

"Thank you so much!" The teen sounded relieved. "Please tell him I'm sorry and that I didn't deserve the detention. He knows I have trouble with bullies and I just really need help holding on to my powers around them, I know I promised to do better, but... I was too scared."

Sean, whoever he was, sounded like he was about to hyperventilate. Or to cry. This sort of situation was exactly the reason why Erik hated baseline-led mixed schools so much. What kind of idiotic human teacher gave detention to a poor kid trying to defend himself from a bully?

"Hey, Sean, slow down okay, you won't be in trouble with Charles, I'm sure he'll understand. Now tell me more about what happened, surely they didn't give you detention for trying to defend yourself?"

Turns out that's exactly what they had done. And between listening to Sean's hesitant story and giving him tips on how to make it look like the other guy was responsible for the property damage next time, Erik completely forgot to ask him how he had gotten his very private number. He quickly texted Charles to let him know his student would not make it and finished collecting his things to go home.


	3. Raven

Erik knew Janos could take care of himself, but he couldn't help checking his phone every few minutes hoping for a message. The mutant should have been back over and hour ago from his recognition mission in a club known for its anti-mutant patrons. Angel, their contact on the inside, had vouched for Janos and was a regular source of information. They were planning on infiltrating the senators' private visit next month and didn't want to leave anything to luck.

Erik had made himself _very_ clear when he had told Janos to contact him if anything went off plan. He hesitated between anger and concern and decided he'd wait five more minutes before asking Emma to go down to the club herself. She would be pissed, as always, but he needed to know his teammate was safe.

That's when his mobile rang from an unknown number. Picking up quickly, Erik felt his heart race.

"Yes, is everyone all right?"

"Uh, yes, I suppose? This is Mystique, I'm at a payphone at the airport. I just landed for the week, but my phone died and I didn't know who to call."

Erik had completely forgotten they were welcoming Charles' sister for the week. He usually got along incredibly well with her, to her brother's discouragement, but now was not the time for a little chat.

"Fuck. This _really_ isn't the moment Mystique, I'm waiting for an important call okay, call Charles please."

"Hmmm, I have no idea what his number is, never got around learning it by heart! Please don't be mad, I won't be long. I just wanted to know if my brother was home or if I had to meet him at the university."

Erik rolled his eyes, hopping the sentiment would get to the other end of the line.

"I'm pretty sure he's home, he wasn't teaching today. I really got to go okay Mystique, I'll see you tonight okay? Take care."

Of course, that was the moment Janos chose to finally come in the Brotherhood's cramped offices. His eyes were so wide open Erik got scared for a second and thought he was hurt.

"Wow, was that Mystique as in _Mystique_ the actress?"

"Uhm, yes." What else could Erik say?

"You know her? That's crazy man! You should ask her about joining our group, she could be interested. She so out and fierce, she'd do wonders for PR."

That certainly deserved a thought. Charles would probably be pissed and make him sleep on the couch for a week, but it was worth a try. Knowing Mystique, she would be at least intrigued by the offer. She had always admired the Brotherhood's work and had sided with it in the past in interviews and on the net.

But that was for tonight, now what Erik really wanted to know was what had taken Janos so fucking long.


	4. Alex

Erik was chilling in his living room, unopened beer in hand. His boyfriend was in Washington for the weekend. Moira and he had arranged a series of conferences and meetings with dignitaries in honor of the end of the Mutant visibility month. Erik had offered to come as a joke, but Charles had made it very clear that his presence was less than welcome and would probably end up with someone getting hurt. Their loss really.

He knew Emma would be there too, something about being the legal consultant on one of the panels. Knowing the woman, it was probably an elaborated excuse to mingle with the high-ranked during the evening parties. If the Brotherhood could benefit from it, Erik wasn't gonna complain.

He was startled by his phone's ringtone and grabbed it from the other end of the room with his powers.

"Hello?"

"Hi, is Charles around? It's Alex, I really need a favor. I messed up."

Who was this again? The voice sounded defensive but young.

"He's not, but I can give you his number if you'd like."

The boy at the other end of the line paused, sounding a bit off.

"That won't do, I told them I was calling my dad and they won't let me call anyone else, I've tried before. I just really need an adult to come and get me. I would have called Charles first, but I was afraid to make a mistake in his number and the officer took my phone so I couldn't check it. It's a dumb system really. Do you think you could call him for me?"

Quickly connecting the dots, Erik sighed. Behind his protective anger, the kid sounded scared. Knowing Charles mostly tutored kids who had a hard time controlling their powers it was disturbingly easy to guess why this one was in trouble. 

"Charles' not around, but we can probably figure something out."

"Don't bother, it's okay, Armando will find someone. I shouldn't have called."

Well fuck, this kid sounded like he had trouble dealing with rejection.

"Hey Alex, he really is out of town. And he would come in a heartbeat if he could, but he can't, so you'll have to deal with me. Tell me which police station you're at and I'll see what I can do okay?"

Alex still sounded mistrustful.

Erik really wished he could pass the phone to his boyfriend, who always seemed to know what to say to defuse misunderstandings. Technically he could have contacted him telepathically. Considering Charles' range it wouldn't even have been a stretch of his power. But he knew he was busy and didn't want to bother him during an already stressful weekend.

"Cmon. I said I was coming already. Calling someone was the right thing to do. Just tell me where you are and don't get into more trouble while I get there, good?"

Knowing that Charles was out of state made Erik feel strangely responsible for the boy. He had been in his shoes back in high-school, often running with less than recommendable crowds. Hell, he still was according to most authorities. The Brotherhood's legal team earned their pay, to say the least.

The teenager finally agreed to give him the address of the police station and to stay calm until his arrival. He even voluntarily told him he was held because his powers had misfired and damaged one of his neighbor's tree. That probably announced a lot of trouble ahead, but Erik saw the interaction as an all-around win.

He drove quickly to the police station, wary of what he would find there. While his face was usually hidden by his helmet when he fought with the Brotherhood, a few officers knew him. He really hoped it wouldn’t play against his new best buddy Alex. He also had his reserves with dealing with the defensive teenager.

He finally arrived at the station and told the person at the front desk he was here to bail out an Alex. He realized he didn't even know the boy's last name, but that didn't seem to matter to the passing officer who grabbed him by the elbow.

"Oh, you're here for the freak? Right this way. Can't wait to get rid of him, he's scaring everyone around the station."

Erik could practically hear Charles' voice in his head telling him not to rise to the insult. He was here for a reason and wasn't going to let this mutantphobic bastard ruin his little rescue mission. He was going to keep this officer's name, Officer Birks if he read the name tag properly, in mind though.

"I'm here for Alex, yes."

The short man brought Erik deeper into the police station, passing by two or three empty cells.

"Our only mutant-proof cell is in in the back, didn't want him to try to escape you know."

The officer had the audacity to throw a sneering smile at Erik, completely oblivious to the fact he was talking to one of the most unpredictable mutant activist on the planet. Where had he gotten the idea that Erik would agree with him? He would have given anything to call out his powers there and then to terrorize the man. Just to have a little fun. He made the definitive decision to come back later and have a little _friendly_ chat with the man. For now, he couldn't let Alex down.

"Kids these days will do anything for attention. This little guy has been complaining and calling us names since he got here."

Erik narrowed his eyes at that. Rejection _and_ anger issues, he was starting to like this Alex more and more and hadn't even met him yet.

They finally came close to the holding cell at the far end of the room, which was home to a scrawny blond teenager. The kid was holding himself a little hunched, but seemed fine. He raised his head at the sound of footsteps and seemed to do a double take when his eyes met Erik's.

"Hi Alex, I'm Charles' friend Erik. Ready to go?"

"Can't wait to get the hell out of here." Was the teenager's response. Erik gave him a small nod and a smile in return. The teen was still staring at him, like he was trying to piece something together.

Officer Birks brought Erik over to his office in the other corner of the room and had him sign a registry and gave him Alex's cell phone and wallet. He brought him back to the holding cell, opening it with a hard glare for the teenager. The kid hoisted himself up from the bench.

"Here, you're good to go. I hope you'll know to be grateful to the nice man who got you out _Alex_. I hope I won't see you around anytime soon, you've done enough damage as it is."

"Oh right, I'll do my best Officer Birks." Alex answered with a sneering tone. This seemed to be a regular thing then.

Erik couldn't help himself but to open the station's door with a twist of his powers and a large toothy grin for the officer. It was petty and didn't even help calm his anger, but at least it was satisfying to see in the " _Oh shit_ " go through Officer Birks' eyes. It even made Alex chuckle.

They walked in silence towards Erik's car. The man didn't know what was expected of him now. Give the young delinquent a pep-talk? Call Charles? Team up with Alex and his apparently explosive gift to bring the police station down? None of these options seemed appropriate, but that's all he was coming up with.

It's a good thing Alex broke the silence, because he was starting to consider the third idea.

"Hey, have we met before? I don't think I've ever seen you around the community center, but you look incredibly familiar. You're one of Charles' friends, right?"

"Right, something like that. I don't think we've met before." Erik suddenly remembered he had no idea how Alex had gotten his phone number in the first place and realized the kid probably didn't know he was the same man as the rowdy Magneto he saw on tv. He was almost positive Charles didn't brag to his students about shagging a semi-terrorist; probably not the sort of role-model he was trying to set up for his protégées.

"Or you work for him? That's his car, no?"

" _Ou_ r car. And I definitely don't work for him. Now can I drive you back anywhere? You must have actual parents to go back to?"

"Bah, I don't think my fosters will have noticed I was gone. Thanks for getting me man, but I don't need any mothering, I'll call a friend to pick me up."

Erik scoffed. "Sure thing. Don't hesitate to call again if there's anything. Maybe _before_ you blow a tree up next time?"

The kid was still looking at him funny and had the audacity to roll his eyes and stride away.


	5. Kitty

"Helloooo, is this Charles' friend?"

The voice at the other end of the line could not be older than five and sounded terribly enthusiastic, especially considering it was six thirty in the morning on a Saturday morning. Erik had meant to sleep in with his boyfriend for once! This was getting more and more ridiculous. When had his phone become a hot line for youngsters in trouble?

"Yes, and Charles' right here. Give me a second young lady."

Without any remorse, he shook the sleeping man beside him and handed him the phone.

"Here Charles, I don't even know who it is this time, but we definitely have to talk about this after you're done handling her crisis."

Charles blinked a few times and looked at the phone Erik was holding a few centimeters away from his nose.

"Is this for me?"

"Yes, please take it before she throws a tantrum!"

He finally took the phone, squinting his eyes for good measure.

"Hi, this is Charles, who am I speaking with?"

Erik's boyfriend immediately lit up when he heard the young girl's voice. Apparently getting woken up at sunrise was worth it if it meant chatting with her.

Charles entertained the girls for a good fifteen minutes before hanging up. Apparently, she had gotten stuck between two floors of her home and her mom had helped her call Charles, who was the " _ONLY one who could help her ever and the best and kindest_ ". Her words.

Erik was intrigued by her skills, but failed to see why it required his boyfriend's input on a day off. And even worst, why did it have to go through _his_ phone?

"Charles, are we going to talk about why I've recently become a call center for your students? Last time I checked you have a phone too, and if not, we can definitely afford one, maybe even a dedicated line."

Charles looked sheepish and started playing with an imaginary loose thread in the comforter. It was a rare look on him and it made Erik warry.

"I'm so sorry, I really hope they're not bothering you" He said tentatively.

"Please tell me you didn't leak my phone number to an entire school. I use this number for Brotherhood business and emergencies, I don't want them mixed up in any of it!"

Charles finally smiled and looked up. "No no no no no, don't worry, I only gave it to a few of my students. The ones I worry about sometimes. I gave them mine too, and even told them to call it first. But yours is so easy... I told myself it would be easier for them, if there was a real emergency, to remember yours. I swear I really didn't think they would call. And they definitely don't know whose number it is. I didn't tell them! Just said it was a friend's."

Erik looked up too, trying to decide how he felt about all of this. He was touched really, that his boyfriend trusted him enough to send his precious students to him in case of trouble.

"Erik, please don't be mad, I'll tell them to stop, don't worry. It can be so hard for them out there and most parents have no idea what to do when their kid's power flare, I just wanted them to have someone reliable on call."

"It's okay, I'm not mad. I'm flattered really. They seem to have a lot of respect for you."

If Erik was being honest with himself, it was amazing how trusting children became around Charles. Even those who'd had a hard time with adults and authority before because of their powers seemed to respect him and seek his guidance.

"You're my emergency contact too you know?" Charles added. "You're the person I trust the most and I know that whatever happens you'll have my back and the back of those who need it most."

Well maybe _that_ was worth waking up early for.

Erik kissed his boyfriend on the nose and brought him closer, trying to go back to sleep.


	6. Hank (and ensemble on speaker)

Erik was once more at the Brotherhood's HQ when his phone rang. This time however it was in the middle of an annual strategy meeting with most of its members present, physically or by call. Having Az amongst their ranks really helped when it came to bringing together people from four different continents.

So, it couldn't be a brotherhood member, someone else in the room would have received a call or a psionic warning before he did. It also wasn't likely to be Charles; he was teaching today and knew about Erik's meeting. He picked up the phone, knowing people usually called him when they truly needed a hand.

"Yes?"

"Hum, is this Charles' friend?" a young voice asked. It got farther from the phone : "Alex, you said his name was Erik, right?"

"Yes, this is Erik, I hope this is a true emergency, I'm quite busy right now kids. I can give you Charles' number if that's what you're looking for, but I really need to hang up now."

Emma shot him a strange look. _Who's Charles?_

 _No one you should worry about._ He sent her back quickly, knowing she didn't like surprises.

"Please don't hang up." the kid insisted, his voice becoming a little pitchier. "We know we're not supposed to call anymore, but it's about Charles, we don't know what to do."

"What's going on?" Erik straightened up, suddenly worried. He spotted Emma's now furrowed brows and telepathically asked her to take on the presentation for a few minutes while he took care of the call in private. _Personal matters, don't worry about me._

"We don't know what's going on sir. We can't get close to him, whenever one of us tries, they start feeling like their head's gonna explode. I couldn't even go check his pupils, and I think Kitty puked. But none of us did anything, I swear we'd never want to hurt him. I wanted to call an ambulance, but the Prof started screaming when we mentioned the word _hospital_ and Alex almost burned the phone off my hand. So, we... compromised, and called you."

The kid sounded surprisingly leveled. Finding an ambulance or a doctor would have been the logical move had Charles not been one of the most powerful and unpredictable mutants on the planet. As it was it really wasn't an option. Medical equipment was enough to destabilize him on a good day. Exposing him to needles or bright white light while he was woozy was a plan for disaster.

"Hey, of course none of you wanted to hurt him, it's okay. Where are you, and is he conscious? I'm coming, stay on the line."

Erik knew Charles was prompt to terrible episodes of migraine, especially when he was tired or overwhelmed. They would sometimes radiate to those around him when he was too out of it to shield properly, but only a few of them had ever been cause for serious concern. Charles usually had enough self-preservation to call someone and head home when he felt them coming, but he _had_ brought himself on the edge of collapsing in the past, usually in the name of self-sacrifice. Getting him through his PhDs had been a minefield. 

The kid on the line told Erik his favorite professor seemed to be breathing properly, but that he wasn't responding to their questions. He didn't know if that was because he was unconscious or because of the pain he seemed to be in.

Erik told him to regroup the children, to ask them to quiet down, and to close the lights. Letting Charles rest was all they could do while they waited. He quickly went back to the Brotherhood's meeting to let everyone know he had to step out, leaving a puzzled Emma behind. Mutant pride could wait, he had a boyfriend to take home.

\---

The kids were huddled in the lobby of the center when he arrived. Alex was holding a young brunette girl in his lap. He was awkwardly petting her hair. Four more children were sitting with them, whispering between themselves.

"Hey, look Hank, I told you he'd come." said Alex, lifting the girl from his lap and slowly getting up.

A young but tall kid, Hank presumably, raised his head and let his shoulders relax. He almost ran towards Erik.

"We left him rest, like you said, he's in the lounge, right here." He motioned for Erik to follow him. All the other kids trailed behind them, curious and worried.

"Okay, thank you for being there. Tell me, how close to him were you able to get?"

Hank, taking his role very seriously, thought for a second. "Maybe five meters? Some of us could get closer than others, but that was the average I think. I could barely enter the room though. Charles always say I think too much, I think it might aggravate his pain."

They swerved toward the right of the corridor and Hank slowly opened a door, careful not to make a sound. He pointed to the sofa at the back of the room. Erik recognized his partner, curled up with his back facing the door, arms hunched over his head in a position that screamed of tension and pain. He wanted to be annoyed at Charles for exceeding his limits and crashing hard, but the sight made his heart sink a little.

"Let me go talk to him okay, we'll find a way to get him home."

He tried to slow his thought as much as he could and to radiate a sense of calm and peace. He was familiar enough with Charles' sensible gifts to know that intense worry would not be well received. Coming closer he could see the small man's eyes were tightly closed. Every ounce of protective instinct he had screamed to bundle his boyfriend and fly back home.

"Hey, honey, how are you holding up?"

"Erik? How are you here?" Charles' voice was hesitant and soft. He hadn't moved from his position, still curled up on the battered sofa.

"I came as soon as they called. They're all very protective you know. Do you think you're well enough to move?"

"I'm not sure I can stand. It's a bad one."

He was quiet for a minute, collecting his thoughts. "I didn't want the children to see me like this, but it came faster than usual... and you had an important meeting. I thought I'd be able to tough it out, but apparently I was wrong."

"You should have called me."

The visible corner of Charles' mouth went up, drawing the tiniest of smiles. "I'm sorry you had to leave the meeting." Charles was still talking to the back of the couch.

Erik was much better than the children at shielding. He had managed to come within reaching distance of his boyfriend with only minimal discomfort. He made to put his hand on Charles shoulder to prompt him to turn around, but he was met with a wave of pain and dizziness that left him fighting to catch his breath.

Looking at his hands on his knees Erik took a deep breath. It really was a _bad_ one. This was going to be more complicated than he'd thought.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry love. I try to hold it in, but everything is going too fast." The telepath had managed to turn around, worry and pain pulling at his traits. He was squinting his eyes, and everything about his posture said he was going to collapse in the next few seconds.

"I'm okay, it's fading already" Erik answered. He took a few more breaths, clearing the fog from his mind and trying to come up with a viable plan to get his boyfriend home, where at least they had psionic-strength painkillers.

"Can you wait for me for a minute love? I need to go get something."

Charles opened his eyes a bit wider and closed them back in understanding. "Please just be careful not to scare the kids too much."

Erik grinned and left the room quietly, only now realizing that the children had been watching from the doorframe the whole time. They made to move and adverted their eyes, shy to have been caught.

Walking slowly towards the entrance, he let his powers flow, searching for the distant call of his helmet, stored in a safe in their apartment. It was now a few kilometers away, but he could have recognized the piece metal from the other end of the continent. Calling all his focus on the lock of the safe, he opened it remotely. Now that its content was free, he carefully pulled it towards himself and out of their home. Making if shoot through the sky towards him was then only a question of seconds. He could feel it arriving...

"WHOA! Guys I told you I thought the guy looked familiar!" Alex's eyes looked like they were going to pop out of their sockets.

_Of course, they had followed him. Show time then..._

Sean couldn't believe his eyes either, but at least he had the decency to look at the magenta helmet siting in Erik's hand rather than to stare at his face like the other kids were doing. "Alex, you said he looked familiar, you didn't warn us Charles' friend was fucking Magneto!"

"Language kid." Erik wasn't going to let the older ones be bad influences for Kitty, who was holding Hank's hand a few steps behind them. He took the helmet under his arm and strived back towards the lounge. He couldn't wait to leave this place.

Alex chuckled and whispered to his friend, thinking Erik was far enough not to hear. "Did your gift make you deaf? I'm pretty sure they're more than friends."

_Great. High school kids are going to start gossiping about my love life now._

He opened the door carefully once more. From afar, Charles almost looked asleep. He took a moment to appreciate the love and respect he had for the curled-up man. He knew his boyfriend hated it when he had the helmet on. A few years back he probably would have screamed and refused to be helped by Erik while he was wearing it. But they had grown more confident around each other and Charles knew that Erik entirely belonged to him, even when his mind was shielded. It had taken a lot of communication and hard earned trust, but Erik could not imagine it any other way.

"Ready to go home?" He put the helmet on and laid a strong hand on Charles' shoulder, stabilizing him on the couch.

He gently lifted him bridal style. Charles' head came to rest in the crook of his neck, where he could feel him breathing tight pained puffs. He looked tired and vulnerable. Erik was definitely going to check on his sleep schedule for the next few days or at least until the dark circles under his eyes disappeared.

"Erik?"

"Yes love?"

"Thanks for being here and for playing nice with the children." Charles curled up a bit closer.

Erik chuckled. He walked out of the building and towards his car, opening the doors with his powers on the way. He lowered his precious cargo on the passenger's seat and carder a hand through Charles' hair, hoping to be of some comfort.

Erik jogged back to the entrance of the building where the children had once more gathered.

"Are you guys going to be okay?" He finally asked to Hank who was standing in the doorframe.

"Yeah, Alex called his boyfriend already, Armando's gonna get us home I think."

"Good. You did great today Hank, calling me was the right move. Thank you for taking care of Charles." He patted Hank on the shoulder and turned around to finally bring his boyfriend back home.

The kid looked embarrassed by the praise, but he smiled anyways and awkwardly waved goodbye.


	7. Emma

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> +1 to loop the loop

Erik was cooking diner when he felt, more than heard, his boyfriend's phone ring. Charles furrowed his brows when he saw the phone's caller ID show up.

"Yes? Who am I speaking to? Why is this call coming from Erik's number?"

Whoever was at the other end of the line probably wasn't familiar to him, because he mentally nudged Erik, his eyes full of question marks.

"Yes, I _can_ reach Magneto quickly. What is this about?"

"Is it the Brotherhood?" mouthed Erik, turning down the stove. "Pass me the phone." He quickly took it, lifting the pans off the oven with his powers.

"Yes, this is Magneto. What's going on? Is everyone safe?" He looked at Charles and sent a quick message his way; _Janos broke his phone yesterday. I lent him mine and renamed you as "Emergency"._

Emma's tone at the other end of the line quickly became reassuring. Everyone was safe and sound, but the scouting mission they were on had taken an unexpected turn.

In the last few month, the Brotherhood had been investigating a research firm which owned a few unregistered labs in Russia. It allegedly only experimented on animals, but it had recently been linked to the disappearing of mutants and to illegal international funding.

This week's outing was supposed to be strictly recon, but Emma's small team had been discovered by the lab's heavy security team. The Brotherhood had had no choice but to go full out on the guards and on the few researchers who were still at the lab in the middle of the night. They had indeed found animals, but also half a dozen caged Russian mutants. Emma wanted Erik in as soon as possible to have a good read on the building before they brought it to the ground.

This is the moment Charles chose to intervene. While listening to Emma's account of the night, Erik had had to take the phone away from his face every few seconds to avoid getting his ears pierced by a terrible human screeching coming out of it. The cries were so loud Charles easily heard them through the phone's small speaker.

"I don't want to intrude, but is this sound babies crying in the background? Are they okay?"

Erik raised an eyebrow and repeated the question for Emma.

"I heard it the first time, thanks. Who's this by the way?"

"I'm Charles, nice to meet you Emma."

"Charles as in " _Personal emergency Charles_ "?" Emma asked, her tone curious.

"Maybe, now answer the question please."

"Okay! No need to get all defensive, whoever you trust, I trust Magneto, we've been over this before." She sounded like she could go on, but she came back to their current concerns, efficient as always.

"Yes, two of the mutants we rescued are babies. They seem to be okay as far as we can see. They're very young and yet they've already manifested. It's pretty extraordinary actually. Az's been speaking with the other mutants here, but it's not looking great for them. According to the mutants, their parents have been killed by the firm's mob. And none of them want to take them in, it's too dangerous."

Few things painted a target on one's back quite as well as two loud mutant babies having trouble controlling their powers. The team couldn't ask this of the mutants they had just released.

Charles took the phone back from his boyfriend's hands. His protective streak, which Erik had come to love and respect, was coming out with full force.

"Charles speaking, are there any safe places in Russia you could leave them at? What's the plan for these children?"

"There's no set plan yet. We were waiting on Magneto's input. We'll either convince one of the other mutants to take them in, or we'll try to scout for a mutant friendly orphanage. We won't be able to travel very far with two mutant babies without raising suspicions."

Charles found Erik's eyes once more. None of these options were acceptable. They were too risky for the security of the victims the team had just released. And whoever had captured the babies in the first place might still been around, the Russian facilities were not the only one held by the pharmaceutical company. Charles looked at the man he trusted with his life over the phone and reached for his hand, hoping he would understand.

It took Erik a few instants to notice the changes in his boyfriend's body language, but he quickly understood his line of thoughts and took the hand with a smile. He had come to the same conclusion. He projected warmly: _I love you and I know we'll make a great team through everything this may bring, but are you sure this is the best solution? We're both busy people and the world is getting more dangerous by the day._

_Yes I am. We've been talking about adoption for ages Erik, and you've been amazing with the kids from the community center. I can feel it, this is right._

"Emma? You still there?" asked Erik over the phone. "We're coming in. Send Az to my personal address as soon as he's ready. And I think some presentations will be in order. I know you've met him in a professional setting before, but I don't think someone can say they truly know Charles Xavier until they've seen him interact with children or people in need of help."

Emma audibly gasped and a strong smell of sulfur suddenly filled the air.

Erik didn't know what the future held, but he knew that between Charles and himself, these two babies would be loved and supported no matter what the world threw at their family.


End file.
